Bath Salts Abuse and Addiction (cont.)

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

What is the treatment for bath salts abuse and addiction?

The treatment of bath salts intoxication involves providing intensive medical
monitoring and attention to address the specific symptoms of the individual. It
also often involves using medication to alleviate the agitation and other
emotional symptoms of intoxication.

The primary goals for the treatment of addiction symptoms (also called
recovery) are abstinence, relapse prevention, and rehabilitation. When the
addicted person first abstains from using drugs, he or she may need help
avoiding or lessening the effects of withdrawal. That process is called
detoxification or detox. That part of treatment is usually performed in a
hospital or other inpatient setting (often called detox centers), where
medications used to decrease withdrawal symptoms and frequent medical
assessments can be provided. As with many other drugs of abuse, the detox
process from bath salts is likely the most difficult aspect of coping with the
physical symptoms of addiction and tends to last for days.

People who may have
less severe psychological symptoms of bath salts dependency may be able to be
maintained in an outpatient treatment program. Those who have a more severe
addiction, have relapsed after engaging in outpatient programs, or who also
suffer from a severe mental illness might need the higher level of structure,
guidance, and monitoring provided in an inpatient drug-treatment center, often
referred to as "rehab." After inpatient treatment, many bath salts addicts may
need to reside in a sober-living community, that is, a group-home setting where
counselors provide continued sobriety support and structure on a daily basis.

Another important aspect of treating bath salts addiction is helping family
members and friends of the addicted person refrain from supporting addictive
behaviors (codependency). Whether codependent loved ones provide financial
support, excuses, or fail to acknowledge the addictive behaviors of the addict,
discouraging such codependency of friends and family is a key part of the
recovery of the affected individual. Focusing on the bath salts-addicted
person's role in the family likely becomes even more urgent when that person is
a child or teenager. Bath salts-dependency treatment for children and
adolescents differs further from that in adults by the younger addict's tendency
to need help finishing their education and achieving higher education or job
training compared to addicts who may have completed those parts of their lives
before developing the addiction.